Danes, 'Homeland' in top form; Spader lifts 'Blacklist'

Claire Danes performs in a scene from "Homeland" in this undated handout photo released to the media on Oct. 28, 2013. (Kent Smith/Showtime via Bloomberg)

Strip-searched, hooded and kidnapped by a mysterious band of home-invaders (certainly terrorists, possibly Iranian) super-spy Carrie Mathison ended Sunday's episode of “Homeland” right where we need her.

On her own.

Five episodes into this reinvigorated series's third season, Showtime's “Homeland” seems finally to have ditched the tired Carrie/Brody romance and returned to its thriller roots.

The excellent Claire Danes had already bowled us over last week, when the show revealed that a major recent storyline — Carrie's national humiliation, the public decimation of her career and her confinement to a mental ward — was in fact a ruse designed to bait terrorists.

James Spader and Megan Boone perform in a scene from "The Blacklist" in this undated handout photo released to the media on Oct. 28, 2013. (Will Hart/NBC via Bloomberg)

As conspiracy tales go, this one's a whopper, a perfect balance of cynicism (the CIA can't be trusted) and idealism (the CIA can work wonders).

As television, it's even better.

Like Bryan Cranston on the late, great “Breaking Bad” and the Jessica Lange-led cast of divas on “American Horror Story: Coven,” Danes pushes the bedraggled, hysterical Carrie to the limit of our affections.

And she's not alone. Her chemistry with Mandy Patinkin's Saul Berenson is impeccable.

Damian Lewis, the show's ostensible male lead, has been featured in only one episode this season, and as good as the actor is, “Homeland” hasn't really missed his played-out Brody.

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That could change, of course. “Homeland” is nothing if not surprising.

“Homeland” airs Sunday on Showtime at 9 p.m. EST.

— — —

Never underestimate the power of a juicy ham with a rakish hat.

NBC's “The Blacklist” is the fall's most popular new drama, with star James Spader lugging the show into that spot week after week.

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